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Judges could lose support of BioDistrict in their quest to build new courthouse

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With Mayor Mitch Landrieu advocating a plan to move City Hall and Civil District Court into the former Charity Hospital, BioDistrict board members could resolve to stop any future discussions about helping to build a new courthouse on Duncan Plaza. Orleans Civil District Court Judge Michael Bagneris said he's still committed to building a new courthouse â it'll just have to be somewhere else in the Central Business District.
(File photo)

Orleans Parish Civil District Court judges might need to wipe BioDistrict New Orleans off their list of potential helpmates in their dogged pursuit of a new courthouse.

The board of BioDistrict, a state-created agency designed to promote the biosciences sector of the New Orleans economy, is poised to vote on a resolution Nov. 20 acknowledging it "will not pursue the development of a Judicial Court Complex," according to its meeting agenda.

Jim McNamara, president and CEO of the organization, said he added it to the agenda after a meeting between board President Gene D'Amour and Andy Kopplin, deputy mayor for New Orleans, who also serves on the board.

The mayor's office in recent months has opposed the judges' quest to secure BioDistrict's bonding authority and assistance in an effort to build a new facility on state-owned property at Duncan Plaza. Mayor Mitch Landrieu instead wants the new civil courthouse to inhabit seven floors in the former Charity Hospital, along with new City Hall offices.

He characterized the judges' mission to build a new courthouse as self-serving and out of sync with broader efforts to improve the city. He also questioned the level of funding the judges say they have to finance and operate a new facility.

"It's a divisive issue and it's a lot more complicated than it was originally thought when we first got into this," McNamara said.

Mayor Mitch LandrieuCity of New Orleans

McNamara said he originally began looking into the courthouse project because he believed Landrieu's administration supported the concept.

That's because through an increase in court fees, the judges have collected $100,000 to $125,000 a month, they say, to cover 65 percent of the new construction costs for a $105 million to $110 million building. The rest, their website says, will come from additional fees, new market tax credits and retail revenues.

The judges called on the BioDistrict for its support this summer after recognizing that BioDistrict's master plan also called for the construction of a courthouse in Duncan Plaza. A partnership could be mutually beneficial, both sides argued, since BioDistrict needed money and the judges needed help with bonding capacity.

Contacted Wednesday, Civil District Judge Michael Bagneris said he wasn't familiar with the BioDistrict's intent to eliminate the courthouse from its future discussions. But he pointed out that the 15-member board has been struggling for months to get a quorum to even discuss the matter.

Civil District Court Judge Michael BagnerisFile photo

"The BioDistrict is obviously something that is not within the court's jurisdiction, so they are free to do whatever they want to do," Bagneris said.

With that in mind, his group, the Judicial District Court Building Commission, has already started looking for other possible locations, he said.

Last week, the group advertised a request for qualifications from developers interested in designing a 220,000-square-foot courthouse and a 55,000-square-foot parking garage in the Central Business District. Bagneris said the response was significant, with more than 50 people expressing interest.

He remains undeterred by whatever action the BioDistrict may or may not take.

"We have the money we need and we're going to get the footprint," Bagneris said. "We will build a new courthouse."